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More Talk Of Downtown Grocery Store

By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN

July 12, 2013

Talk of a second try at opening a grocery store in downtown Hartford is back.

The city's development director told the Capital Region Development Authority's housing committee Friday that the city and the developer of the old Bank of America tower are in discussions with two potential grocers that could open in street-level space in the building.

Development Director Thomas E. Deller declined to identify the possible market operators.

The planned $78 million conversion of the 1960s office tower would add 286 mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments. In addition, there is 35,000 square feet of street-level retail space.

The first foray into the downtown grocery store business, the Market at Hartford 21, ended in failure in 2011. The upscale market's offerings proved too pricey, and the overhead too costly.

Earlier this year, there also was a push by the Hartford Community Loan Fund for a supermarket in the area just north of downtown. The city currently is studying the development potential for that area.

The loan fund said it had an operator, which it didn't identify, interested in a downtown location.